’ Public  Opinion 

Its  Effect  on  Business 

BY 

HOWARD  ELLIOTT 

PRESIDENT,  NORTHERN  PACIFIC  RAILWAY 


ADDRESS 

BEFORE  THE 

Publicity  Club  of  Minneapolis 

MINNEAPOLIS,  MINNESOTA 
January  10th,  1912 


i 


PUBLIC  OPINION— 

ITS  EFFECT  ON  BUSINESS 


In  the  preface  to  his  friendly  volume,  “The  United  States  in 
the  Twentieth  Century,”  M.  Pierre  Leroy-Beaulieu,  one  of  the 
keenest  of  foreign  observers  of  conditions  in  the  United  States,  and 
a noted  economist,  uses  this  striking  language: 


“Moral  worth,  which  includes  the  recognition  of 
duties  as  well  as  of  rights,  self-respect  and  respect  for 
one’s  fellows,  has  contributed  fully  as  much  as  the  magnifi- 
cent resources  of  their  country,  to  the  brilliant  success  of 
the  American  people.  Of  the  qualities  that  have  co- 
operated to  elevate  them  so  rapidly  to  such  a com- 
manding position,  the  most  impressive  is  a great,  a 
tireless  energy. 

“Now  that  the  obstacles  raised  by  Nature  have 
been  overcome,  now  that  the  country  is  already  so  wealthy 
that  the  individual  cannot  always  hope  to  see  his  efforts 
as  richly  compensated  as  was  formerly  the  case;  there 
is  danger  that  this  precious  quality  may  be  to  some 
degree  lost. 

“It  seems  to  me  that  the  first  care  of  the  Americans 
should  be  to  maintain  it  in  all  its  integrity.  The  essential 
condition  to  the  development  of  energy  is  liberty. 
Every  restriction  on  liberty,  with  however  good  purpose, 
diminishes  the  individual  responsibility  and  initiative. 
Yet  we  often  hear  mooted  in  America,  as  elsewhere, 
measures  which  under  the  pretext  of  correcting  abuses, 
would  immeasurably  extend  the  State’s  field  of  action, 
and  reduce  the  liberty  of  citizens.  It  is  my  earnest  hope 
that  the  American  democracy  will  reject  such  ener- 
vating proposals,  and  will  remain  true  to  the  virile  and 
liberal  traditions  that  have  ensured  the  United  States 
so  wonderful  a growth.” 


In  these  short  paragraphs  a foreign  observer  and  admirer  has 
placed  his  finger  on  one  danger  that  threatens  the  American  people 
today,  viz:  the  tendency  to  take  away  by  law  the  freedom  of  action 
of  the  individual  and  to  attempt  to  shift  upon  numerous  and  often 
half  digested  laws,  burdens  that  the  individual  should  carry  himself, 
and  to  try  to  solve  problems  by  law  that  public  opinion  should  settle — 
based  on  a few  of  the  great  fundamental  laws  of  life  that  no  legisla- 
ture or  commission  can  change. 

American  M.  Leroy-Beaulieu  is  right  in  declaring  that  a 

Energy  tireless  energy  characterizes  the  American  people, 

and  the  economic  progress  of  the  country  has 
been  so  rapid  as  to  astonish  foreign  students  of  American  social  and 
business  conditions.  It  has  wrought  great  changes  in  our  methods 
of  business  and  of  living.  The  average  American  enjoys  luxuries 
and  conveniences  which  were  not  dreamed  of  even  twenty-five  years 
ago,  and  the  inventive  genius  of  Americans  is  daily  placing  in  the 
hands  of  every  man,  new  and  improved  tools  with  which  to  do  his 
work. 

More  Attention  Our  prosperity  has  increased  the  complications 
to  Government  of  government,  and  the  close  attention  given 
by  our  people  to  business  has  resulted  in  less 
personal  attention  to  public  affairs,  and  there  is  not  the  feeling  of 
interest  and  responsibility  about  them  that  characterized  the  American 
people  when  there  were  fewer  people  and  less  wealth. 

The  average  American  must  realize  that  with  a more  complex 
civilization  and  government  the  duties  that  devolve  upon  him  in- 
dividually are  more  important  than  before.  He  must  take  a broader 
and  better  view.  He  must  not  consider  the  law  a crutch  to  take  the 
place  of  a direct  and  personal  responsibility  that  our  system  of  govern- 
ment places  upon  him.  He  should  realize  that  he  is  one  of  many  who 
make  government  in  this  country  and  determine  whether  it  shall  be 
lax  or  efficient.  The  law  is  only  the  expression  of  the  sound  public 
opinion  of  many  individuals. 

Pride  in  During  a hundred  years  Americans  have  taken 

Achievement  a pride  in  the  extent  of  the  country,  in  its 

great  natural  wealth  and  resources,  in  the  de- 
velopment of  their  country,  and  in  the  large  machinery  of  business 
and  industry  that  has  grown  up  under  their  hands.  We  have 


2 


been  proud  that  we  are  big;  so  much  so  that  we  have  exposed 
ourselves  sometimes  to  the  smiles  of  foreigners,  who  have  thought 
us  boastful. 

It  is  related  that  a French  business  man  accepted  the  invitation 
of  a prominent  man  of  that  city,  to  visit  Chicago.  The  two  started 
from  New  York  and  began  to  talk  about  the  rapid  development  of 
the  country,  and  the  visitor  remarked: 

“You  Americans  are  a boastful  people.  I will  wager  a sum  of 
money  that  before  we  have  been  in  Chicago  thirty  minutes,  at  least 
two  of  your  fellow  citizens  will  have  proven  it  to  me.” 

The  wager  was  made.  Upon  alighting  from  the  train  the  Chicago 
man  met  a friend  and  introduced  his  guest.  Almost  in  a breath  the 
friend  saluted  the  French  visitor,  and  urged  him  to  visit  the  stock- 
yards  at  once,  because  “they  are  the  largest  in  the  world!”  Fifteen 
minutes  later  at  a club,  the  Frenchman  won  his  wager,  when  a promi- 
nent merchant  invited  him  to  tour  the  business  district  in  an  auto  and 
see  the  “greatest  commercial  center  in  the  world!/’ 

Such  pride  is  natural  in  a people  who  have  done  great  things  in  a 
short  period  of  years.  Our  commerce  is  great  and  our  trade  extends 
to  the  corners  of  the  earth — the  product  of  a hundred  years.  Our 
transportation  system,  with  a capitalization  which  is  the  lowest  in 
any  civilized  country  in  the  world,  with  the  lowest  rates,  and  with  the 
highest  efficiency  of  service  and  ability  to  meet  the  demands  of  business, 
is  second  to  none.  An  elaborate  system  of  public  education  has  been 
built  up,  and  is  aided  by  many  universities  and  schools  created  by 
private  gifts,  which  rank  with  the  best  institutions  of  learning  in 
other  countries.  In  the  common  things  of  life,  corresponding  progress 
has  been  made,  and  the  average  American  lives  better,  profits  more 
from  his  labor,  and  has  greater  opportunities  of  advancement  than 
the  people  of  any  other  country. 


Progress  has  been  In  all  this  wonderful  progress,  there  is  one 

a Material  One  weakness  which  many  Americans  realize.  Our 

progress  has  been  largely  material,  and  public 
opinion  has  been  busy  with  purely  material  things.  In  transportation, 
business,  invention  and  the  spread  of  learning,  our  achievements  are 
equal  to  or  superior  to  those  in  foreign  countries.  What  we  have 
done  in  100  years  is  due  largely  to  the  tireless  energy,  individual 

3 


9 ry  a a 9 yj 
CU  t ^ O I 


responsibility  and  initiative  spoken  of  by  M.  Leroy-Beaulieu.  If  we 
turn  to  our  national  life,  the  welfare  of  which  is  dependent  upon  the 
degree  of  personal  responsibility  felt  by  the  average  citizen,  a less 
favorable  result  comes  to  our  attention.  There  are  defects  of  political 
and  governmental  machinery  which  are  apparent  to  everyone.  Efforts 
toward  better  standards  are  made,  yet  there  are  still  preserved  in  the 
methods  of  government  in  most  of  the  cities  of  the  land,  customs 
and  practices  which  are  not  thorough,  efficient  and  economical  or 
equal  to  the  methods  insisted  upon  in  ordinary  business.  In  private 
business  affairs  the  progress  toward  genuine  efficiency  is  more  rapid 
than  in  either  national,  state  or  municipal  government.  This  may 
be  attributed  to  the  lack  of  a vigorous  public  opinion  insisting  that  a 
man  in  the  service  of  the  public  shall  work  just  as  long  and  as  hard 
as  the  man  in  private  business. 


Public  Duty  The  American  people  are  divided  in  their  views 

about  present  conditions.  The  ultra-conserva- 
tive are  content  to  watch  their  income  grow  with  not  much  thought 
of  public  duty.  The  sentimentalists  and  the  radicals,  actuated  more 
by  the  heart  and  self-interest  than  by  reason,  declare  that  all  things 
are  wrong  and  that  we  must  tear  down  and  begin  over  again,  intro- 
ducing doubtful  principles  and  ideas  often  obsolete  and  unpractical. 

It  is  probable  that  the  true  view  is  between  these  extremes — that 
there  is  sound  public  opinion  in  this  country,  but  that  it  is  not  making 
itself  felt  as  it  should,  because  the  pressure  of  material  things  and 
personal  interest  prevents  proper  expression  of  it.  Society  as  a whole 
needs  a stronger  sense  of  personal  responsibility,  creating  a foundation 
upon  which  a really  sensible  and  constructive  public  opinion  may  be 
built. 


v . Few  people  realize  the  number  of  men  in  this  country 

entitled  to  vote  who  fail  to  do  so. 

In  1900  there  were  in  the  United  States  males  of  voting  age — or 
potential  voters — 21  329,819;  and  there  would  be  some  increase  each 
succeeding  year,  and  yet  the  vote  for  President  was 


in  1896  13,827,212 

1900  13,970,134 

1904  13,524,349 

1908  14,887,133,  or  about  35%  not  voting. 


4 


The  1910  Census  and  the  official 

voting  returns 

tell  the  story 

locally. 

Voting 

Votes  Cast 

Per  Cent. 

Population 

Last  Election 

Not  Voting 

Minnesota 

642,531 

310,165 

51.7 

Minneapolis 

105,286 

43,903 

58.3 

St.  Paul 

72,041 

29,499 

59.1 

North  Dakota 

173,885 

94,084 

45.9 

Fargo 

4,769 

2,416 

49.3 

Grand  Forks 

4,036 

1,854 

54. 1 

Bismarck 

1,988 

890 

55.2 

Certainly  not  a good  showing  of  interest.  Public  opinion  should 
arouse  people  to  take  more  interest  in  selecting  the  men  who  are  to 
make  and  administer  the  laws  that  affect  their  daily  lives  in  many 
directions. 

_ One  result  of  this  indifference  and  neglect  is 

that  there  is  a class  described  generally  as 
“politicians”  who  make  the  laws — and  make  too  many  of  them.  That 
is  their  business,  and  the  more  elaborate  the  governmental  machinery 
and  the  more  laws  to  be  made  and  unmade,  the  better  for  the  “poli- 
tician” and  his  friends  who  are  living  at  the  expense  of  the  rest  of 
us  because  we  are  too  busy  to  express  our  real  views  about  matters 
of  grave  importance. 

The  disposition  to  try  to  adjust  everything  by  passing  laws  is 
nowhere  more  strikingly  shown  than  in  the  number  of  laws  introduced 
into  Congress.  While  the  largest  number  of  proposed  enactments 
submitted  to  any  American  Congress,  during  the  ten  year  period 
ending  in  1909,  was  at  the  sixtieth  session,  when  38,388  bills  were 
introduced,  the  more  deliberate  and  careful  methods  of  the  English 
are  shown  in  the  fact  that  the  largest  number  of  bills  before  any 
Parliament  in  that  period,  that  of  1900,  was  only  621.  Less  than  2 
per  cent,  of  the  bills  before  the  sixtieth  Congress  became  law,  while 
67  per  cent,  of  the  bills  proposed  in  Parliament  in  1900  were  enacted. 

During  this  ten  year  period,  our  national  Senate  and  House  con- 
sidered 146,471  different  bills.  During  the  same  period  the  English 
Parliament  considered  but  6,251  measures.  The  Congressional 
“mill”  added  15,782  measures  to  the  law  of  the  land;  Parliament 
enacted  but  3,822  new  laws.  The  figures  in  both  instances  include 
both  public  and  private  bills,  and  it  should  be  added  that  Parliament 
considers  and  acts  upon  many  subjects  which  are  considered  by  state 
and  municipal  bodies,  in  the  United  States. 


5 


The  State  Legislatures  for  1911  considered  as  a part  of  new 
railroad  legislation  proposed,  a total  of  512  bills,  affecting  physical 
operation  of  railroads.  These  proposed  bills  related  to  hours  of 
service,  terms  of  employment,  the  kind  of  uniforms  to  be  worn  and 
other  matters  affecting  employes,  compulsory  and  voluntary  arbi- 
tration, train  rules,  regulations  for  the  operation  of  freight  and  passen- 
ger trains,  equipment,  car  supply  and  claims,  signals,  clearances, 
crossings,  maintenance  of  tracks,  and  many  details  which  it  would  be 
supposed  that  the  long  experience  and  extensive  knowledge  of  railroad 
managers  under  the  varying  conditions  of  business  would  be  a better 
guide,  than  the  judgment  of  a legislative  body,  no  matter  how  ex- 
cellent its  intentions. 

In  the  seven  states  in  which  the  Northern  Pacific  Railway  has 
its  lines,  the  legislatures  considered  a total  of  230  railroad  bills  about 
matters  that  can  be  settled  much  better  by  the  friction  and  evolu- 
tion of  business. 

Legislation  that  is  a response  to  a real  public  opinion  should  not 
be  objected  to  by  any  conscientious  citizen.  Such  laws,  backed  by 
the  will  of  the  people,  will  be  enforced.  But  the  deluge  of  new  laws 
that  is  dumped  upon  the  country  has  the  effect  of  weakening  respect 
for  the  law,  because  too  many  laws  prove  unwise  in  practice,  and  are 
not  enforced,  with  the  result  that  too  many  people  grow  up  with  a 
lack  of  respect  for  law  and  order  and  do  not  obey  promptly  those  who 
have  the  right  to  give  orders. 

Railroad  There  is  a very  proper  concern  because  of 

Accidents  railroad  accidents  and  no  one  is  more  concerned 

about  them  than  the  railway  owner  and  mana- 
ger: they  have  the  greatest  incentives  of  anyone  to  avoid  them — 
pride  in  their  profession ; the  natural  desire  of  all  men  to  prevent 
sorrow  and  suffering;  the  loss  of  money  and  reputation. 

And  yet  most  accidents  are  due  to  three  fundamental  causes — 
disobedience  by  some  one  of  a rule  that  if  followed  would  have  pre- 
vented the  accident;  negligence  of  some  individual  somewhere  in 
doing  his  particular  work,  making  the  car  wheel,  or  rail,  laying  the 
track,  inspecting  the  track,  throwing  the  signal,  etc.;  recklessness 
among  passengers  and  employes. 

This  disobedience,  negligence  and  recklessness  cannot  be  elimi- 
nated by  law,  but  public  opinion  can  have  a marked  effect  upon  it. 


6 


The  lack  of  public  opinion  of  sufficient  weight  to  compel  the 
enforcement  of  many  of  the  laws  passed  in  the  United  States,  is  one 
of  the  causes  of  our  homicides.  Every  day  of  the  year  murders  are 
committed  somewhere  in  the  United  States.  Many  have  tried  to 
point  out  the  reason.  It  is  probable  that  several  factors  rather  than 
one  are  responsible,  and  that  they  may  be  summed  up  in  the  laxity 
of  public  opinion,  and  the  consequent  laxity  of  law  and  its  adminis- 
tration. For  this  death  roll,  every  individual  of  the  American 
people  should  feel  a responsibility.  It  is  the  lack  of  such  public 
opinion  that  caused  the  Indiana  Railroad  Commission  to  make  this 
sad  comment  in  its  accident  bulletin  issued  in  March,  1910: 

“Trespassers  continue  to  pay  the  usual  toll  in  blood 
for  the  fatal  right  to  make  thoroughfares  of  the  railroads. 

If  the  railroad  ties  were  three  times  as  many,  and  were 
saturated  with  oil  and  burning  all  the  time;  if  dynamite 
were  placed  on  the  track  every  ten  feet,  and  people 
walked  on  the  tracks,  nevertheless  the  deaths  would  be 
no  more  certain  than  in  a country  whose  laws  do  not 
prohibit  such  use  of  the  tracks,  and  whose  customs  and 
carelessness  of  human  life  permit  these  astounding 
fatalities.’’ 

From  1901  to  1911,  50,708  persons  lost  their  lives  by  “walking 
on  the  railroad  tracks” — taking  chances  of  death  that  were  obvious. 
Add  54,183  more  who  were  injured,  and  you  have  a total  of  death 
and  destruction  because  the  American  people  have  not  developed  a 
public  opinion  upon  this  question  that  makes  a person  who  reck- 
lessly takes  such  chances  of  death  feel  the  opprobrium  of  his  associates. 

Three  pretty  Iowa  maids  walked  from  Burlington  to  Chicago 
last  autumn.  Interviewed  by  a Chicago  paper  they  said: 

“Last  Sunday  we  must  have  walked  four  hours  on 
the  road,  though  without  seeing  a soul.  So  we  got  back 
on  the  tracks,  walking  ‘goose  fashion’  along  the  cinder 
path.  It  wasn’t  long  before  trains  were  going  by,  the 
people  waving  their  handkerchiefs  at  us.  That  was 
great  fun.” 

A railroad  statistician  posted  on  the  death  roll  among  those 
who  walk  the  tracks  “for  fun,”  adds  the  comment: 

“What’s  the  use  of  signals,  colored  lights^or  other 
forms  of  warning!” 


7 


The  accident  record  of  the  American  railroads  has  often  been 
made  a weapon  in  the  hands  of  their  critics,  but  the  press  and  the 
public  do  not  set  forth  clearly  the  true  facts.  From  the  total  number 
of  employes  killed  and  injured  must  be  deducted  the  number  of 
casualties  due  to  their  own  recklessness,  carelessness  or  willingness  to 
take  chances,  of  which  Mr.  William  J.  Cunningham  in  speaking  in 
February  of  last  year  before  the  New  England  Railroad  Club  said : 

“American  railway  employes  are  proverbially 
chance-takers,  and  are  not  as  amenable  to  dicipline  as 
British  railway  trainmen,  who  have  a greater  respect 
for  authority  and  instructions.  Americans  are  noted 
for  always  being  impatient  and  in  a hurry.  These  na- 
tional differences  in  both  passenger  and  employe  bear 
a relation  to  accidents,  indefinite  to  be  sure,  but  never- 
theless important,  particularly  in  the  ‘chance  taking’ 
by  employes.” 

Analysis  of  An  analysis  of  the  railroad  accidents  in  the  United 

Fatalities  States  for  the  year  ending  with  June,  1911,  shows 

that  out  of  356  passengers  who  were  killed, 
there  were  only  96  persons  killed,  while  riding  on  trains,  in  accidents 
for  which  railroads  were  probably  responsible.  In  the  same  year  the 
railroads  handled  more  than  900,000,000  passengers. 

For  1909  the  results  showed  that  a passenger  could  travel  4,000 
times  around  the  earth  without  being  killed — or  he  could  travel  60 
miles  an  hour  for  220  years  -without  being  killed! 

During  1908,  316  railroad  companies  hauled  455,365,447  passen- 
gers without  the  death  of  a single  passenger  in  a train  accident. 
In  1909  there  were  347  railroad  companies,  hauling  a total  of  570,- 
617,563  passengers,  without  a single  accident  to  a passenger  in  a 
train  accident.  These  figures  cover  a mileage  of  railway  equal  to 
that  of  the  United  Kingdom,  Germany  and  France  combined,  and 
present  a record  of  immunity  from  fatalities  among  those  who  travel, 
unequalled,  except  in  the  United  States  in  previous  years. 

Incomplete  records  for  1910  show  that  156  lost  their  lives  in 
automobile  fatalities.  The  death  toll  of  the  automobile  for  11  months 
of  1911  was  257,  more  than  two  and  a half  times  the  death  roll  of 
passengers  in  train  accidents  for  which  railroads  were  responsible. 

One  hundred  persons  met  death  by  accident  during  the  hunting 
season  of  1911,  in  the  Northwestern  States. 


8 


Effect  of  What  a vigorous  public  opinion  might  do  in 

Public  Opinion  diminishing  the  railway  death  and  accident 

list  is  well  shown  in  the  remarkable  figures  of 
Fourth  of  July  accidents  which  have  recently  become  public.  The 
death  roll  from  the  celebration  of  this  holiday  was  for  years  a matter 
of  anxious  concern  to  many.  In  nine  years  it  meant  39,219  killed 
and  injured.  It  was  within  recent  years  that  the  vigorous  agi- 
tation for  a “safe  and  sane  Fourth”  started.  The  figures  for  1911 
show  but  57  killed,  while  in  1910  the  death  list  was  131  and  in 
1909  it  was  215.  Within  a little  more  than  two  years  time  a vigorous 
public  opinion  intervened  between  the  American  small  boy  and  a 
time  honored  method  of  celebrating  a national  holiday,  changed  the 
customs  of  a people  and  reduced  the  death  list  from  215  to  57. 

Obedience  to  The  railway  owner  may  make  a very  fine 

Rules  physical  machine,  but  when  it  is  done  it  must 

be  operated  with  all  of  its  complications  by 
human  beings,  who  are  not  perfect,  and  who  make  mistakes. 

In  our  country  of  large  distances  and  large  cities,  the  question  of 
feeding  people  and  keeping  them  warm  means  that  transportation 
must  be  regular,  sufficient  and  continuous.  What  would  happen  to 
New  York  or  Chicago  or  Minneapolis  if  for  one  week  all  railroad 
transportation  was  abandoned 

The  railway  owner  may  make  rules  and  regulations  and  make  effort 
to  continue  in  business,  but  he  cannot  always  do  so  unless  public 
opinion  in  time  makes  it  clear  that  when  a man  chooses  as  his  means 
of  livelihood  work  in  a railroad,  he  assumes  a duty  to  society  as  a 
whole  to  give  absolute  obedience  to  rules,  and  to  remain  at  work 
until  suitable  arrangements  are  made  to  relieve  him.  So  dependent 
is  the  welfare  of  the  whole  country  upon  regular  transportation  that  in 
time  public  opinion  will  declare  that  men  in  a railroad  have  no  more 
right  to  disobey  reasonable  rules  than  have  the  men  in  the  army;  have 
no  more  right  to  leave  in  a body  than  have  the  men  in  the  army.  When 
they  act  thus  in  the  army  they  are  punished  for  mutiny  and  desertion. 
Probably  no  law  could  be  framed  at  the  present  time  that  would 
cover  these  ideas,  because  it  is  contrary  to  our  American  ideas  to  say 
that  a man  shall  or  shall  not  work  as  he  may  wish.  But  public  opinion 
would  in  time  crystallize  so  that  in  some  way  strikes  or  industrial 
war  would  be  things  of  the  past,  and  men  could  only  leave  in  a body 


9 


by  being  mustered  out  in  some  orderly  manner.  We  hear  much  about 
Quasi-Public  Corporations,  and  Public  Opinion  has  gone  a long  way 
in  taking  away  from  the  owner  of  Public  Service  Corporations  the 
right  to  manage  his  own  property,  to  name  his  own  rates  or  prices, 
to  decide  about  his  methods,  and  has  imposed  on  him  the  responsi- 
bility of  providing  safe  and  adequate  Public  Service  from  his  private 
means,  but  so  far  has  exerted  little  influence  upon  the  men  who  have 
to  make  the  Quasi-Public  Corporation  of  use  to  the  public.  If  a 
man  decides  to  work  for  a Quasi-Public  Corporation  he  becomes  a 
Quasi-Public  servant  and  he  has  a moral  duty  and  responsibility  to 
society  just  as  much  as  the  owner  has,  to  see  that  society  is  not 
deprived  of  the  service  necessary  for  its  existence. 


Responsibility  of  The  railroad  manager  is  hampered  in  obtaining 
Union  Labor  absolute  precision  and  reliability  not  alone  by 

the  human  equasion,  but  by  the  operation  of 
the  force  M.  Leroy-Beaulieu  points  out.  Over  many  of  the  employes 
his  authority  is  divided  with  the  labor  unions,  which  exercise  a powerful 
influence  in  determining  the  extent  of  the  authority  he  is  to  be  per- 
mitted to  exercise  over  their  members.  To  the  unions  he  must 
look  for  acquiescence  not  alone  in  the  rates  of  pay  and  terms  of  employ- 
ment, but  in  the  rules  he  makes,  the  authority  he  exercises  over  men 
charged  with  various  duties,  and  the  obligations  under  which  a large 
number  of  men  work.  His  power  to  cull  his  forces  and  discard  not 
only  the  unfit,  but  those  who  do  not  demonstrate  their  entire  capa- 
bility, is  limited. 

The  American  people  have  corrected  some  of  the  errors  in  cor- 
porate management  and  realize  that  Organized  Capital  is  necessary 
to  the  welfare  of  the  country,  but  that  it  must  be  controlled  and 
regulated . 

Organized  Labor  is  a great  force  that  makes  for  good  or  evil  of 
Labor  and  of  society  as  a whole,  depending  on  the  wisdom  and  pa- 
triotism of  the  leaders. 

Most  men  want  to  work  and  support  their  families  but  they 
fear  the  ridicule  of  their  fellows  and  sometimes  follow  too  blindly  an 
unwise  leader  who  may  do  them  a real  harm. 

Public  opinion  at  one  time  justified  burning  and  torturing  people 
because  they  did  not  follow  the  same  religious  practices  as  those  in 


10 


authority.  In  old  Salem  it  justified  burning  women  who  were 
thought  to  be  witches.  Less  than  100  years  ago  it  justified  one  man 
killing  another  in  a duel  because  of  some  insult  real  or  fancied. 

Today  physical  violence  and  social  ostracism  are  still  in  practice 
toward  those  who  do  not  wish  to  join  a labor  organization,  but  who 
do  wish  to  work.  But  Public  Opinion  will  change  and  say  to  Organ- 
ized Labor  as  it  has  said  to  Organized  Capital:  “You  must  be  fair  to 
all.”  J.  B.  McNamara  in  his  confession  said  “I  did  what  I did  for 
principle.”  It  is  only  necessary  for  an  aroused  Public  Opinion  to 
speak  out  and  show  the  unfortunate  men  like  the  McNamaras  that 
the  many  good  men  in  the  ranks  of  labor  and  the  many  good  men  in 
the  other  walks  of  life  will  not  stand  for  that  kind  of  principle. 

In  this  great  country  north  and  west  of  Minneapolis  you  want 
the  best  and  safest  railroads  and  the  best  facilities  and  the  best 
employes  who  will  form  a well  paid  and  contented  body  of  citizens, 
and  the  making  of  a sound  public  opinion  will  help  to  produce  the 
desired  results. 

Rights  of  The  transportation  business,  now  trying  to 

Railroads  readjust  itself  physically  to  the  growing  needs 

of  a great  country  which  has  developed  rapidly, 
has  been  subjected  to  severe  attack  and  criticism.  That  transporta- 
tion is  a vital  part  of  commerce  and  the  greatest  element,  after  agri- 
culture, in  business  success,  has  been  ignored.  With  other  kinds  of 
business  it  has  felt  public  opprobrium,  because  an  element  of  the 
people  have  revolted  somewhat  against  alleged  improprieties  of  the 
past.  Railroads  have  had  to  struggle  for  existence  as  have  other 
forms  of  business.  Their  history  is  similar  to  the  history  of  other 
forms  of  business  of  contemporaneous  development,  and  their  present 
critics,  forgetting  all  that  has  been  done  to  bring  the  American  rail- 
road to  its  present  high  plane  of  efficiency,  have  been  led  into  a some- 
what unfair  attitude. 

Growth  of  Of  the  609,994  miles  of  road  in  the  world,  which 

Railroads  is  the  mileage  as  of  1908,  nearly  40  per  cent.,  or 

233, 46S  miles  were  in  the  United  States.  The 
railroad  mileage  operated  has  grown  from  159,272  in  1890,  to  239,652 
in  1910.  The  number  of  employes  of  railroads  has  grown  from 
750,017  in  1890  to  1,502,823  in  1909,  and  there  are  at  least  1,000,000 


11 


holders  of  securities.  These  2,500,000  owners  and  employes  represent 
about  10,000,000  of  our  population  and  their  rights  should  be  con- 
sidered and  protected  just  as  much  as  those  of  other  classes  of  people. 

In  the  United  States  the  railroads  have  lowered  their  rates, 
largely  by  voluntary  action,  about  25  per  cent,  since  1888,  but  the 
tons  of  freight  carried  have  increased  257  per  cent.,  the  mileage  of 
freight  trains  80  per  cent.,  and  the  average  haul  per  ton  in  miles, 
14  per  cent.  The  lowering  of  rates  saves  the  shipper  $1  out  of  every 
$4  he  formerly  paid,  and  was  equivalent  on  the  tonnage  moved  by 
the  railroads  in  1910  to  the  very  large  saving  of  .$615,928,000. 

Capitalization  of  As  compared  with  $275,000  per  mile  in  the 
Railroads  United  Kingdom,  $109,788  per  mile  in  Germany, 

$80,985  in  Russia,  $139,390  in  France,  $112,879 
in  Austria,  the  capitalization  of  the  railroads  in  the  United  States  is 
smaller  than  that  of  the  railroads  of  any  country  of  the  first 
class,  and  especially  low  when  considered  from  the  viewpoint  of 
comparative  service  to  business,  for  in  this  country  the  citizens 
command  the  service  of  five  miles  of  a railway  to  one  mile  that  serves 
the  average  European. 

Listen  to  what  the  Railroad  Securities  Commission  says  in  their 
report  transmitted  by  the  President  to  Congress  December  lltli,  1911 : 

“Neither  the  rate  of  return  actually  received  on  the 
par  value  of  American  railroad  bonds  and  stocks  today, 
nor  the  security  which  can  be  offered  for  additional 
railroad  investments  in  the  future,  will  make  it  easy  to 
raise  the  needed  amount  of  capital. 

The  rates  of  interest  and  dividends  to  outstanding 
bonds  and  stocks  of  American  railroads  is  not  quite  four 
and  one-half  per  cent,  in  each  case.” 

Public  opinion  must  be  exerted  to  see  that  railroads  are  fairly 
treated  so  that  the  money  needed,  especially  in  a fast  growing  country 
like  that  west  of  Minneapolis,  for  increased  and  improved  transpor- 
tation facilities  can  be  obtained  and  spent  rapidly  and  freely. 

In  1900  the  Northern  Pacific  Railway  handled  2,205,317,271 
tons  of  revenue  freight  one  mile,  and  ten  years  later,  5,419,084,365 
tons  one  mile,  and  the  next  ten  years  should  show  greater  growth. 


12 


Four  Hundred 
Years  Ago 


Every  age  has  its  problems,  and  we  sometimes 
think  that  ours  are  much  more  difficult  and  are 
different  from  those  that  others  have  had  to 


deal  with.  I read  the  following  the  other  day: 

“The  merchants  form  great  companies  and  become 
wealthy,  but  many  of  them  are  dishonest  and  cheat 
one  another.  Hence  the  directors  of  the  companies  who 
have  charge  of  the  accounts  are  nearly  always  richer 
than  their  associates.  Those  who  thus  grow  rich  are 
clever,  since  they  do  not  have  the  reputation  of  being 
thieves.” 

This  sounds  as  if  it  was  said  by  some  very  active  member  of  the 
so-called  Progressive  Party,  many  of  whom  seem  to  be  more  interested 
in  their  own  progress  into  an  office  or  their  progress  from  one  office 
to  a better  one,  than  in  the  real  Progress  of  the  people  as  a whole. 

To  show  that  they  have  discovered  nothing  new,  let  me  state 
that  this  paragraph  was  published  in  the  Chronicle  of  Augsburg, 
Germany,  in  1512,  400  years  ago,  so  the  modern  Progressive  who 
thinks  business  is  all  wrong,  and  that  he  has  discovered  the  trouble 
and  can  remedy  it,  is  somewhat  behind  the  times: 

Also  the  following: 

“It  is  impossible  to  limit  the  size  of  the  companies, 
for  that  would  limit  business  and  hurt  the  common 
welfare.  The  bigger  and  more  numerous  they  are,  the 
better  for  everybody.  If  a merchant  is  not  perfectly 
free  to  do  business  in  Germany  he  will  go  elsewhere,  to 
Germany’s  loss.  Anyone  can  see  what  harm  and  evil 
such  an  action  would  mean  to  us.  If  a merchant  cannot 
do  business  above  a certain  amount,  what  is  he  to  do 
with  his  surplus  money?  It  is  impossible  to  set  a limit 
to  business,  and  it  would  be  well  to  let  the  merchant 
alone  and  put  no  restriction  on  his  ability  or  capital. 

Some  people  talk  of  limiting  the  earning  capacity  of 
investments.  This  would  be  unbearable  and  would  work 
great  injustice  and  harm  by  taking  away  the  livelihood 
of  widows,  orphans  and  other  sufferers,  noble  and  non- 
noble, who  derive  their  income  from  investments  in  these 
companies.  Many  merchants  out  of  love  and  friendship 
invest  the  money  of  their  friends,  men,  women  and 
children,  who  know  nothing  of  business,  in  order  to 
provide  them  with  an  assured  income.  Hence  anyone 
can  see  that  the  idea  that  the  merchant  companies 
undermine  the  public  welfare  ought  to  be  seriously 


13 


considered.  The  small  merchant  complains  that  he  can- 
not earn  as  much  as  the  companies.  That  is  like  the  old 
complaint  of  the  common  laborer  that  he  earns  so 
little  wages.  All  this  is  true  enough,  but  are  the  com- 
plaints justifiable?” 

This  is  from  a report  of  a committee  appointed  by  the  Diet  of 
Nuremberg  to  investigate  monopolies,  and  they  made  their  report 
in  1522.  And  the  Committee  found  then,  as  it  is  true  now,  that 
they  could  not  change  the  situation  very  much  without  doing  more 
harm  than  good! 

Chinese  I read  in  the  Literary  Digest  a few  days  ago 

Business  Rules  four  paragraphs  which  are  said  to  represent  the 

Chinese  view  of  certain  business  practices. 

They  read  as  follows: 

‘‘Those  who  deal  with  merchants  unfairly  are  to  be 
beheaded.” 

‘‘Those  who  interrupt  commerce  are  to  be  be- 
headed.” 

‘‘Those  who  attempt  to  close  the  markets  are  to  be 
beheaded.” 

‘‘Those  who  maintain  the  prosperity  of  commerce 
are  to  be  rewarded.” 

The  Chinese  seem  to  recognize  that  injustice,  interruption  of 
business  and  control  of  markets  are  undesirable  things  and  that  the 
expansion  and  growth  of  commerce  is  a good  thing! 

They  suggest  pretty  drastic  remedies,  which  can  hardly  be 
followed  out  in  this  country  and  they  suggest  rewarding  those  who 
expand  commerce;  while  in  this  country  the  tendency  is  to  condemn 
them. 

Effective  Public  opinion,  however,  in  this  country,  if 

Public  Opinion  created  wisely  by  the  action  of  the  true  majority, 

can  accomplish  the  desired  results  without 
beheading  anybody.  Public  opinion  can  insist 

That  in  the  schools  supported  by  the  public,  children  shall  be 
taught  the  great  importance  of  absolute  obedience,  continuous 
work,  accuracy  and  economy,  and  that  these  habits  are  essen- 
tial for  anyone  who  is  to  become  a good  citizen ; 


14 


That  the  Press,  supported  by  the  subscriptions  and  advertise- 
ments of  the  public,  and  putting  forth  each  year  more  than 
10,000,000,000  copies,  can  by  telling  the  real  truth  in  simple 
form  do  much  good  to  the  country  and  in  the  long  run  make 
more  money  than  by  being  sensational  and  yellow; 

That  the  great  public  service  and  other  corporations  must  be  fair 
to  those  who  need  their  service,  but  on  the  other  hand  they 
must  receive  fair  treatment  and  a chance  to  make  money,  or 
they  will  not  be  ready  to  serve  when  the  public  needs  them 
badly; 

That  the  honest,  hard-working  laboring  man  must  be  allowed  to 
work  whether  his  convictions  lead  him  to  belong  to  a labor 
organization  or  not,  and  that  labor  organizations  must  be 
fair  and  square  in  their  dealings  with  their  members  and  with 
the  public  at  large; 

That  in  the  effort  to  correct  abuses  that  may  have  developed  in 
business  life  during  the  very  rapid  and  really  marvelous  growth 
of  this  country,  the  tireless  energy  of  our  people  should  not  be 
destroyed  by  crippling  the  development  of  individual  responsi- 
bility and  initiative;  and 

That  laws  should  only  be  made  on  complete  knowledge  of  the 
real  facts. 

To  create  a public  opinion,  everyone  must  do  some  work  and  not 
leave  the  formation  of  that  opinion  to  a small  minority  who  make 
a great  deal  of  noise,  not  always  in  the  wisest  way, — and  everyone  can 
do  a little  towards  helping  out. 

Maltbie  says: 

“We  are  not  here  to  play,  to  dream,  to  drift, 

We  have  hard  work  to  do,  and  loads  to  lift. 

Shun  not  the  struggle;  face  it,  ’tis  God’s  gift.” 

This  is  good  advice. 


Form  38S6—50M— 1-12-12 


